24 ms·

The Day the Muse Died

71 points by herbertl 2y ago

gunian 2y ago
[flagged]
jtwoodhouse 2y ago
Passion doesn’t have to be fixed. It can and should evolve over time as you grow as a person. And it’s okay if it’s a rabbit hole that leads to other rabbit holes.
- NickC25 2y ago
  Nor does passion have to be monetized. Too often in life are hobbies and passions forced into the monetization route, which in a lot of people kills the joy, creativity, focus, and spontaneity required to create.
  - bigstrat2003 2y ago
    Indeed. You see it even with us in the tech business. A lot of people used to love tinkering with computers as a kid, got into it for a living, and then want nothing to do with computers in their free time after work. It's just how it goes when you do something all day long for work, you don't necessarily want to do it for fun too.
    - mystified5016 2y ago
      Each day I get a little older and each day I hear that guy who retired after 40 years at Microsoft to start a goose ranch call a little louder. I'm pretty sure that my career in technology is going to end with me on a ranch miles away from the nearest computer and it sounds delightful
  - progmetaldev 2y ago
    For myself, even just going from doing art for myself, to helping out a friend with a label for his brewery made me see the other side of things. He had a specific idea in mind, which was different from mine. I figured out quickly that creating art, and then doing it for business, are far different things. Luckily in the end, he saw another piece of art I had been working on for myself in between his label art, and he chose that. I got to show my art and get a small amount of publicity, and decided that I will never create art for anything other than myself again! This was also with a friend, so I didn't have to hear all the brutal truth that would come with working with a client.
- slyall 2y ago
  It's also a reason to have multiple hobbies and interests. If you lose interest in one (or have to stop doing it) then you have others already going to fill the gap. Also avoid burnout of doing the same activity all the time
readthenotes1 2y ago
"The painting muse in me died. " The things we do to escape the burdens of our current day job change when we change our day job. Turning the escape into the day job is risky.
ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
> Most importantly, don’t do it for money Them's fightin' words, around here... I used to be a musician (a fairly good bass player[0] -Don't laugh. That hair was the height of fashion, at the time). I used to be an artist (a fairly good one[1]). I ended up sidelining both of them for writing software. I don't really regret that, but writing software for other people really sucked. Sucked like a galaxy-core, supermassive black hole. I worked for a company that took Quality seriously, so I didn't have to deal with the internal shame of deliberately releasing crap software. I probably would have gone nuts, if that had been the case, and no amount of money would have fixed it. I now write the software that I want to write, on my terms. It's a joy. I have to keep the scope pretty humble, but I have been having the time of my life. [0] https://cmarshall.com/MulletMan.jpg https://cmarshall.com/MulletMan.jpg [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40917886 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40917886
- bollu 2y ago
  How'd you recommend I learnt to paint? I've not really done much painting in my life at all, and I'd love a breakdown.
  - ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
    Well, sketching (constantly practicing, by drawing) is extremely important. It helps to coordinate the eye and the hand. It starts with being able to accurately and dispassionately render what I see, on paper. From there, I am able to modify the process, so the visual source, is in my head, as opposed to in front of my eyes. Artists like Picasso and Pollock were actually very good realist artists, but their expression came from their interpretation of their own vision. In my experience, there’s no shortcuts. I have to be able crawl, then walk, before I can run. Just like software development. In my case, hiring a teacher, who, right off the bat, told me I was screwing up, was also necessary.
    - froh 2y ago
      > there’s no shortcuts. I have to be able crawl, then walk, before I can run. yes, so much this! my.fad, also a passionate artist, hated how they thinned out technical crafts foundations from arts college. "no more stupid copying and banale Line and color practice! freedum!" the college went. my dad just said (translation follows) @> Kunst kommt von können. Wenn es von wollen käme hieße es Wunst und wir wären Wünstler. art comes from artistry. if it was based on "wanting" we'd call it "want" and we (artists) were "wantists" or "wished" and "wishedits" along these lines he'd learned sketching from herding small livestock, goats, geese, chicken and sketching them, as a kid...
fsdkfdsf 2y ago
[dead]
farts_mckensy 2y ago
It might have something to do with the fact that "fine art" is simply the attempt to create verisimilitude. I guess you get a bit of leeway as an impressionist, but painting landscapes over and over again just seems so boring to me. I would get sick of that too after a while. The "slice of life" type humor he employs in his cartoons is bound to get boring after a while too. It’s interesting that he doesn’t seem to even consider more avant-garde or challenging directions in either medium. Maybe broaden your horizons and get more abstract...or possibly even, dare I say, subversive? I haven't read his prose, but I have to say I'm not surprised a former law enforcement officer finds himself creatively limited. My guess would be he's going to run up against the same problem with writing. I'm sure he's seen some shit at some point in his career. Maybe channel that?
amelius 2y ago
I thought this was about AI tools taking over all the fun jobs, like painting and writing.
6stringmerc 2y ago
[flagged]
- honkycat 2y ago
  Pensions are robbing the younger generation of the opportunity to flourish. It is INSANITY. In a lot of cities the pension liability for retired police and teachers is higher than the actual CURRENT budget of WORKING professionals. It is an issue EVERYWHERE.
MailleQuiMaille 2y ago
An interesting read ! I feel the call of the Muse, and always try to negotiate because, well, I need money to live. To me, creativity feels like a laser I can point in any chosen direction. Want to make a SAAS ? Sure ! Here are a dozen ideas ! Want to write a Sci-fi short story ? There you go, have your pick between those ! Want to make a video game ? Oh boy, have I got the concepts for you ! Then, it's the execution part. The one I never really got right...How could I focus on just one thing ? One thing to make, when the excitement is long gone ?Until I noticed that if I choose a good project, good in the sense that it feeds my soul, helps my fellow human beings and sadly, not necessarily that it will make me money...It's easier to stick to it. In the end, the Muse wins. So I just stick with them, and who knows ! Maybe I can buy a beer or two with their fruits :)
- mariushop 2y ago
  Agnes Varda [1] taught me about the cycle of inspiration-creational effort-showing your work. Nowdays I book an expositional space every year in November and somehow all the work needed is done until then. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmGap7-RxdA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmGap7-RxdA
pmg101 2y ago
Man gives up day job to focus on hobby. Now hobby is his day job.
b3lvedere 2y ago
"If you need more income, find work that interests you or work you can tolerate." Ah, so that's the trick! I wish someone told me that eons ago.... /s
ed-209 2y ago
Nothing stiffles my creativity so quickly as intrusive thoughts of marketability. I can follow the muse or the outcome, not both. I wonder how much of a role this played in the displacement of painting here and if writing may be subject to a similar fate.

71 points by herbertl 2y ago

[flagged]

Passion doesn’t have to be fixed. It can and should evolve over time as you grow as a person. And it’s okay if it’s a rabbit hole that leads to other rabbit holes.

NickC25 2y ago
Nor does passion have to be monetized. Too often in life are hobbies and passions forced into the monetization route, which in a lot of people kills the joy, creativity, focus, and spontaneity required to create.
- bigstrat2003 2y ago
  Indeed. You see it even with us in the tech business. A lot of people used to love tinkering with computers as a kid, got into it for a living, and then want nothing to do with computers in their free time after work. It's just how it goes when you do something all day long for work, you don't necessarily want to do it for fun too.
  - mystified5016 2y ago
    Each day I get a little older and each day I hear that guy who retired after 40 years at Microsoft to start a goose ranch call a little louder. I'm pretty sure that my career in technology is going to end with me on a ranch miles away from the nearest computer and it sounds delightful
- progmetaldev 2y ago
  For myself, even just going from doing art for myself, to helping out a friend with a label for his brewery made me see the other side of things. He had a specific idea in mind, which was different from mine. I figured out quickly that creating art, and then doing it for business, are far different things. Luckily in the end, he saw another piece of art I had been working on for myself in between his label art, and he chose that. I got to show my art and get a small amount of publicity, and decided that I will never create art for anything other than myself again! This was also with a friend, so I didn't have to hear all the brutal truth that would come with working with a client.
slyall 2y ago
It's also a reason to have multiple hobbies and interests. If you lose interest in one (or have to stop doing it) then you have others already going to fill the gap. Also avoid burnout of doing the same activity all the time

readthenotes1 2y ago

"The painting muse in me died. " The things we do to escape the burdens of our current day job change when we change our day job. Turning the escape into the day job is risky.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago

> Most importantly, don’t do it for money Them's fightin' words, around here... I used to be a musician (a fairly good bass player[0] -Don't laugh. That hair was the height of fashion, at the time). I used to be an artist (a fairly good one[1]). I ended up sidelining both of them for writing software. I don't really regret that, but writing software for other people really sucked. Sucked like a galaxy-core, supermassive black hole. I worked for a company that took Quality seriously, so I didn't have to deal with the internal shame of deliberately releasing crap software. I probably would have gone nuts, if that had been the case, and no amount of money would have fixed it. I now write the software that I want to write, on my terms. It's a joy. I have to keep the scope pretty humble, but I have been having the time of my life. [0] https://cmarshall.com/MulletMan.jpg https://cmarshall.com/MulletMan.jpg [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40917886 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40917886

bollu 2y ago
How'd you recommend I learnt to paint? I've not really done much painting in my life at all, and I'd love a breakdown.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Well, sketching (constantly practicing, by drawing) is extremely important. It helps to coordinate the eye and the hand. It starts with being able to accurately and dispassionately render what I see, on paper. From there, I am able to modify the process, so the visual source, is in my head, as opposed to in front of my eyes. Artists like Picasso and Pollock were actually very good realist artists, but their expression came from their interpretation of their own vision. In my experience, there’s no shortcuts. I have to be able crawl, then walk, before I can run. Just like software development. In my case, hiring a teacher, who, right off the bat, told me I was screwing up, was also necessary.
  - froh 2y ago
    > there’s no shortcuts. I have to be able crawl, then walk, before I can run. yes, so much this! my.fad, also a passionate artist, hated how they thinned out technical crafts foundations from arts college. "no more stupid copying and banale Line and color practice! freedum!" the college went. my dad just said (translation follows) @> Kunst kommt von können. Wenn es von wollen käme hieße es Wunst und wir wären Wünstler. art comes from artistry. if it was based on "wanting" we'd call it "want" and we (artists) were "wantists" or "wished" and "wishedits" along these lines he'd learned sketching from herding small livestock, goats, geese, chicken and sketching them, as a kid...

fsdkfdsf 2y ago

[dead]

farts_mckensy 2y ago

It might have something to do with the fact that "fine art" is simply the attempt to create verisimilitude. I guess you get a bit of leeway as an impressionist, but painting landscapes over and over again just seems so boring to me. I would get sick of that too after a while. The "slice of life" type humor he employs in his cartoons is bound to get boring after a while too. It’s interesting that he doesn’t seem to even consider more avant-garde or challenging directions in either medium. Maybe broaden your horizons and get more abstract...or possibly even, dare I say, subversive? I haven't read his prose, but I have to say I'm not surprised a former law enforcement officer finds himself creatively limited. My guess would be he's going to run up against the same problem with writing. I'm sure he's seen some shit at some point in his career. Maybe channel that?

amelius 2y ago

I thought this was about AI tools taking over all the fun jobs, like painting and writing.

6stringmerc 2y ago

[flagged]

honkycat 2y ago
Pensions are robbing the younger generation of the opportunity to flourish. It is INSANITY. In a lot of cities the pension liability for retired police and teachers is higher than the actual CURRENT budget of WORKING professionals. It is an issue EVERYWHERE.

MailleQuiMaille 2y ago

An interesting read ! I feel the call of the Muse, and always try to negotiate because, well, I need money to live. To me, creativity feels like a laser I can point in any chosen direction. Want to make a SAAS ? Sure ! Here are a dozen ideas ! Want to write a Sci-fi short story ? There you go, have your pick between those ! Want to make a video game ? Oh boy, have I got the concepts for you ! Then, it's the execution part. The one I never really got right...How could I focus on just one thing ? One thing to make, when the excitement is long gone ?Until I noticed that if I choose a good project, good in the sense that it feeds my soul, helps my fellow human beings and sadly, not necessarily that it will make me money...It's easier to stick to it. In the end, the Muse wins. So I just stick with them, and who knows ! Maybe I can buy a beer or two with their fruits :)

mariushop 2y ago
Agnes Varda [1] taught me about the cycle of inspiration-creational effort-showing your work. Nowdays I book an expositional space every year in November and somehow all the work needed is done until then. [1] - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmGap7-RxdA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmGap7-RxdA

pmg101 2y ago

Man gives up day job to focus on hobby. Now hobby is his day job.

b3lvedere 2y ago

"If you need more income, find work that interests you or work you can tolerate." Ah, so that's the trick! I wish someone told me that eons ago.... /s

ed-209 2y ago

Nothing stiffles my creativity so quickly as intrusive thoughts of marketability. I can follow the muse or the outcome, not both. I wonder how much of a role this played in the displacement of painting here and if writing may be subject to a similar fate.